Will County and the security of election results

11/5/2018, 9:36 p.m.

Will County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots believes strongly in the integrity of the voting process and takes great pride in the diligent testing of Will County's voting equipment. "We follow all the laws and mandates given to us by the State of Illinois," says Voots.

The Will County Clerk's Office performs internal testing using Logic & Accuracy (L&A). Next, a Public Test is performed with Republican and Democratic chairmen and the State's Attorney present. The same test deck of ballots are run through the ballot counters that will be used on Election Day. The results are then compared to the results from our internal tests. Both numbers must match in order to show the machines are consistently reporting properly.

While voting is conducted by mail, Early Voting or at the Polling Place, a voter must sign a ballot application before receiving their ballot. The number of applications and ballots cast on the ballot counter must match at each location.

There is only one system in Will County that tabulates votes. The AutoMARK Voter Assist Terminal darkens the oval for the voter, who then inserts their ballot into the ballot counter where it is tabulated.

On Election Day as results are uploaded from the precincts, all computers are air gapped from the internet. No results are ever processed online in Will County.

After the Election, a Post-Election Re-Tab is conducted. The Illinois State Board of Elections provides the Will County Clerk's Office with a list of precincts and Early Voting sites we must re-tabulate. The same ballots that were originally cast are fed through the same equipment used either Election Day or at an Early Voting site. Republican and Democratic chairmen and the State's Attorney are also present for this task. The results from this test are then compared to the results from the Voting Results Tapes printed on Election Night or at Central Count. Both numbers must match in order to show the machines are consistently reporting properly.

Election Security is the whole reason why a paper trail ballot is still necessary in Illinois. If there is ever a close race and a candidate files a discovery recount, we can even hand count the ballots if necessary to prove the results are accurate.